Culture and Communications Minister Mathieu Lacombe believes CBC/Radio-Canada should remove advertising from its platforms and be exempt from the federal government’s agreement with Google, which will pay $100 million to the media each year .

“It would be a good idea for Radio-Canada to leave the advertising base to the media that depends entirely or almost entirely on it,” he said in an interview with on Thursday Duty.

In a press scrum earlier, he said he hoped the public broadcaster would not receive any media licensing fees resulting from the agreement between Ottawa and Google. “This is aimed at private media who are missing out on advertising revenue. Therefore, I think CBC/Radio-Canada should be excluded from this revenue share. »

In this respect, the minister’s opinion coincides with that of the Bloc Québécois. However, it contradicts that of the Professional Association of Journalists of Quebec. It states that “help must be available to everyone, including Radio-Canada and Quebecor.”

In his interview with The dutyMinister Lacombe reiterated that CBC/Radio-Canada is “not bad at all.”[e] alone[e] in its category. All media are in trouble, he admitted. However, not everyone “would have the privilege of starting the year with a subsidy of $1.4 billion,” he added, referring to the government support the public broadcaster receives.

“What illustrates my point well is the fact that CBC/Radio-Canada is completing construction of its new, state-of-the-art headquarters in downtown Montreal – and its [elle] had to do its job well – two blocks away, TVA is forced to put its headquarters up for sale […] Because'[elle] “I no longer have the means to keep it,” said Mr. Lacombe, himself a former journalist. “I think this illustrates a little bit the difference in resources and challenges that private versus public organizations face. »

As CBC/RadioCanada completes construction of its new state-of-the-art headquarters in downtown Montreal, two blocks away, TVA is forced to put its headquarters up for sale[elle] no longer has the means to keep it

In Quebec, he explained, the written media – such as The duty Or The press — benefit from “significant” government support through tax credits. Private electronic media – owned, for example, by Quebecor, Cogeco or Bell – do not have access to this support. “You are on your own with advertising,” complained the minister. One more reason for the public broadcaster to put an end to advertising.

When asked about this, Leon Mar, director of media relations for CBC/Radio-Canada, wrote in an email that he had “no comment to make on the minister’s comments.”

Ignored by Ottawa

At DutyMathieu Lacombe said he learned about the signing of an agreement between Ottawa and Google in the media. “Quebec should have been part of the work from the start,” he stressed. The elected official said he contacted Ottawa about the matter as soon as he took office at Culture in October 2022. “I sent letters to the federal government who didn’t even bother to respond to me, imagine YOU.” »

Canadian Culture Minister Pascale St-Onge announced the conclusion of an agreement with Google on Wednesday. Details of this agreement, such as media eligibility for royalties, will be announced on December 19th. On this day, the Online News Act, also known as C-18, goes into effect. This legal text is aimed precisely at forcing digital giants such as Google and Meta to conclude compensation agreements with the media for the distribution of their content.

Minister Lacombe already has a meeting with Minister St-Onge on his agenda in mid-December. However, he now hopes to move forward with this meeting and is even demanding that Ottawa enter into an “administrative agreement” with Quebec so that the Legault government can help the electronic media. “Historical, [ces médias] “I have always reported to Ottawa, which does not support them to the extent that they should be supported,” he denounced. He also pointed out that the line between electronic and written media is becoming increasingly blurred in the face of the digital onslaught.

Regarding Google’s contribution, the elected official said he believes it is essential that the Quebec government has “its say.” “The work must continue with the Quebec government. We must not stand on the side of the road like mere spectators and watch the parade. We talk about our culture, our media ecosystem in Quebec: the government of Quebec must be the first actor,” he said.

To watch in the video